In this teaching reflection, co-authored by an instructor and a teaching assistant, we
consider some of the unanticipated openings for deeper engagement that the “pivot”
to online teaching provided as we planned and then delivered an introductory course on
Indigenous language documentation, conservation, and revitalization from September
to December 2020. We engage with the fast-growing literature on the shift to
online teaching and contribute to an emerging scholarship on language revitalization
mediated by digital technologies that predates the global pandemic and will endure
beyond it. Our commentary covers our preparation over the summer months of
2020 and our adaptation to an entirely online learning management system, including
integrating what we had learned from educational resources, academic research, and
colleagues. We highlight how we cultivated a learning environment centred around
flexibility, compassion, and responsiveness, while acknowledging the challenges of
this new arrangement for instructors and students alike. Finally, as we reflect
on some of the productive aspects of the online teaching environment—including
adaptable technologies, flipped classrooms, and the balance between synchronous
and asynchronous class meetings—we ask which of these may be constructively
incorporated into face-to-face classrooms when in-person teaching resumes once
more.